LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 205, 9 May 1912, Page 4

LOCAL AND GENERAL.

Kapuni has been added to the list of h,eh evidence is to be taken the Railway Commission. Messrs Anthony Hordern and Sons, the well-known Sydney merchants, intend to start business in Christcluireh, and they propose erecting a block of buildings opposite Broadway's. e i C^on three vacancies on the \Vaitnra West Road Board resulted as follows: ,T. S. Connett 02, R. Turnbull 61, H. B. Leppcr 52, French 44. The tirst-named three were elected. The Railway Department has accepted tenders for the supply of coal a t New Plymouth as follows: —5000 tons screened Blackball, 23s 6d per ton; 3000 tons screened Westport Stockton, 26s 3d per ton; 2000 tons screened 'as 6d per ton. ° ' A party of racing enthusiasts who left New Plymouth yesterday, by motor car, . attend the Hawera races, had the misfortune to 'have no fewer than three punctures during the journey. They arrived at the racecourse just in time to I witness the last race, before turning round to return home. ° J The exports from Taranaki ports for the quarter ended March 31 were as follows: New Plymouth £316,877, Waitara £162,319, Patea £260,938; total £740,134. For the corresponding quarter of 1911 the figures were:—New Plymouth £276,679, Waitara, £l4O 045 Patea £267,180; total £683,904. ' ' The Education Board yesterday appointed a committee of- two (Messrs. Masters and Rogers) to inquire into the reasons for the expulsion of a boy from the Durham school. The Durham school committee and the boy's teacher are to be asked for an explanation. The inquiry will take place at the Durhinh school. A farmer on the Durham road, near Inglewood, lias cause to remember the present shooting season, as he discovered that a valuable filly had been shot dead last week end by an amateur sportsman, who, needless to say, ihas not notified him of his identity. In future sportsmen wandering on to this property can expect a warm welcome. : . Mr. Kenrick, S.M., District Coroner,' yesterday morning held an enquiry at Hawera into the circumstances of the fire which recently destroyed the Central Hotel. The Magistrate said that on the evidence before him he could only find that there was no evidence to show how the fire originated, except that it first appeared in the billiard room, or whether it was caused by a defective chimney. According to the Tokio correspondent of the Jiji Shimpo, the Japanese armoured cruiser Kongo, which is shortly to be launched in England, will have eight 14-inch guns, This will be a new record in the annals of naval construction. Each of the Kongo's 14-in guns will weigh 85 tons, firing a shell of 1,8691b weight. The cost of each round j will be £350; the life of the gun is estimated at 250 rounds. The sister ships of the Kongo will also mount 14-inch guns. Some of these guns will be manufactured in England, the rest at the Kure Arsenal and at the Japan Iron Works. Battleship No. 3 under construction, will be of 30,000 tons. The Japanese Naval Department has the intention of mounting 15-inch guns in this vessel. The meeting of the committee of the Society for the Health of Women and Children was held as usual on the first Monday in the month, in the Town Hall, when the attendance was better than usual. The Pluhket nurse gave a satisfactory report of the cases which she had_ attended to during the month of April, and also stated that a request had come from Stratford that she would attend a meeting of ladies there shortly. The committee expressed pleasure that a supply of a small edition of Dr. Truby King's "What Baby Needs" would soon be in the hands of t'he booksellers in New Plymouth for sale. After discussing the best means to take to make the work of the Plunkct nurse more widely known, the meeting closed. The nurse is in attendance every Wednesday from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Town Hall, in the room next to the Electric Light office. A good attendance of ladies on Wednesday in the Good Templar Hall showed the interest that is being taken in the "Jumble Pair," which is to be held on May 23. Choice pot plants, fancy work, useful articles of all kinds, and a good supply of home-made bread have been promised. Donations can be left at Miss Lewis' fancy goods shop, or at Dallas' sweet shop, both in Devon street. The "Grandmothers' portrait album," which is to take the form of a guessing competition, will be fun for all. The Rest Room Committee reported as follows:—"We are pleased-to report that the comfort of the room is as much enjoyed and as largely patronised as ever. We are scarcely able to pay our way .from the contributions that are placed in the boxes in the room. If every visitor would drop one penny in the box, instead of one in two hundred, as is being done now, we would be relieved of much anxiety and be in a position to furnish necessaries which would make the room still more comfortable. At the cost of a penny from all, much more could be done for those who are glad to use this restful retreat." He caught- a train, a boat, a 'bus. Some fish, a cricket ball; He caught his typist talking to The chief clerk through the wall. He caught both 'roo and wallaroo, Upon his annual tour; But saved himself from catching cold, With Woods' Great Peppermint Curt, j

A London cablegram states that the | New Zeaalnd and Australian Land Cc. j has declared a dividend of five per cent. A sad tragedy occurred at Berlin, when a man was carried 700 feet into the air hanging to a rope far below the level of the gondola of the Parseval airship. The airship had been out for a cruise in the neighborhood of Berlin, and was being hauled into the shed when a sudden gust of wind seized it. The workmen relaxed their hold of the ropes, but one was not quick enough, and was carried up with the ship. The crew of the gondola heard his cries, but thought they came from the workmen on the ground. The wretched man meanwhile was being Slowly strangled far below the gondola, been caught in a tangle of rope, and being unable to attract their attention. The ship descended rapidly, and the man, still swinging at the end of the rope, was dashed against a tree and was killed. jI woman called at the hospital in Bilbao, Spain, recently bringing her son, who had enormous hands and 12 fingers on each. The most curious part of the case is that all her sons possess similar hands. One has 21 fingers, an'other 23, and the other five children 24 fingers each. All are living and enjoying good health. Many doctors are studying these cases. At Zaratano, a town in the same province, a case has occurred which is probably unique of its kind. A child has just been born, while hrs father, grandfather, and great-great-giandfather are all living. His name is Urriticoechia, and the family are Basque farm laborers. The great-grand-father and great-great-grandfather have acted as godfathers to the latest arrival. The united family constitutes nearly a whole village. Dairy farmers in other parts of New Zealand when they hear of the high prices offered for land on the Waimate Plains, as much as £75 per acre having recently, been offered, wonder how it is possible to make a living at such a figure. The experience of Mr. T. McPhillips, of the Sutherland road, proves that money expended in the selection of good cows is money well spent, and this, with systematic farming on these good lands, would make dairying pay, even with land at a high figure. On his 200 acres he milked 120 cows, besides keeping his calves, which he disposed of at eight months for £3 12s 6d. These 120 cows averaged for the season 3151b5. of butter-fat. as tested through the Testing Association. This, at the low figure of Is 2d per lb (and it is estimated that Kaupokonui will pay out Is 3do for the season), amounts to £lB 7s 6d per cow per annum. It is no, wonder, therefore, that on leasing his farm at £3 5s per acre, Mr. McPhillips was able to dispose of his whole herd at £l3 per cow, and that twenty-four 18 to 20-months heifers from the same herd were disposed of in the open sale, ring at Manaia on Tuesday at an average price of £ll ss, the best animals realising £ls 15s. The local Good Templar Lodge held a special meeting last evening in their lodge room to bid farewell to Bro. and Sister Legg, who are leaving shortly for Hastings. A large and hearty company assembled, about all the lodge room could comfortably accommodate. Bro. Geo. Hayden, C.T., presided, and the meeting was opened by a short ritual by the officers only, in regalia. The guests of the evening were entertained by song, recitations, and speeches, and all the I company were in the best of humour for a merry evening. Bro. G. Hartnell was first called on to express the feelings i of the lodge on the. departure of our "Leggs," as he humourously termed it! He said that Bro. Legg had revived the lodge about six years ago, and since then had been, with 'his family, the life and soul of the Order, The lodge would certainly miss them all very sorely, and it behoved all the remaining members ; to do a little more towards promoting t'he cause of temperance and Good Templary in particular. He, and the lodge through him, wished their friends great prosperity where they were going, with the confidence tlint wherever they were they would do all they could for the T.O.G.T. Bro. G. IT. Maunder also spoke, and then Bro. F. It. Pepperell.: S.J.W., said how much Bro. Legg had done for the Juvenile Temple. Bro. Legg feelinglv responded, and wished the lodge much success in the work. He said that others might very well take t'he places vacated by himself and his family. He went away, he said, with the hope of coining back to visit New Plymouth next Easter, when the Grand Lodge was to meet there in biennial session. Mrs. Yates and Miss Butler sang, and Sisters Jteid, I. Connett, Juvenile Sister V. Pepperell, and Bro. L. Pepperell gave recitations. There was ample refreshment served by the Sisters, and after singing "Auld Lang Syne," the lodge was closed in the usual order.